Anthony Russo: He is, but you know, we sort of grounded Falcon and sort of a real world kind of military sort of background and it was sort of our overall approach to the movie is sort of, how do you do a hardcore realistic version of a superhero movie, you know? And it’s never going to be hardcore realism, of course.

Joe Russo: But as much as we could pull things into the real world as possible, we absolutely. And also, I grew up on comics and I started collecting them when I was ten and one of the first books I ever bought was a Cap-Falcon book and I was always sort of upset by Falcon’s outfit. I always found it like an insult, you know, so we felt like this is a good opportunity to sort of draw from more post-modern elements to, you know, help pull the characters into the modern world.

To talk a bit more about this cast, it’s always cool when big name actors like Robert Redford sign on to comic book movies and big blockbusters, but I actually love it even more when I hear about great character actors, like Frank Grillo, get those kinds of parts. I’m curious, what was it about Frank Grillo that you felt was perfect for Crossbones and what can you tell me about his performance in this film?

Joe Russo: He’s an amazing actor with incredible intensity, if you’ve seen any of his work. He has that sort of, he also feels like a very classic presence on screen and for us, you know, Crossbones is, he’s most interesting when there’s a, you know, in the books, obviously he’s sort of an Oliver Stone kind of character, that’s what makes him exciting and interesting. We also like the character to have some semblance of threat because he’s also very smart and clever, so, you know, I think Frank really bridged that sort of tone really well and actors are really important thing to us, if you go look at Arrested or go look at the cast of Community. We really pay a lot of attention to how we cast things and what sort of, it’s like you’re a chef in the kitchen. All of the ingredients correctly put in place make the best meal and you know, he just has that verite quality. It just feels very real.

Anthony Russo: The other thing we loved about Frank is that, you know, in this movie, we wanted to really pay a lot of attention to the fighting, really deliver something, really intense level and Frank is a trained boxer. He’s a really good fighter and that was another dimension that was very appealing.

And you talk about Falcon’s physical change, is Crossbones similar to how he looks in the comics? Is it kind of different?

Joe Russo: You know, that’s something I’ll say you’ll have to go see the movie to find out [laughs].

I also want to ask about Black Widow, because I think one of the most exciting things about this project is the dynamic between Captain America and Black Widow. They’re such different characters with such different moralities. You can never tell where her loyalty lies, but in her relationship with Cap, does she tend to side more with him, or is she really a rep for S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Joe Russo: That’s kind of the big question of the movie for us with her character because she lies for a living. That’s her job. What happens now that she’s a member of a group, where her loyalty is going to lie. Is she part of the Avengers or is she, you know, the spy that stays true to the spy that she’s always been and, you know, stay loyal to subterfuge, you know, which is her trade. So, the movie really puts the spotlight on that and it’s like you said, Cap is a character with very strong morals and she’s a character with very flexible morals and that to me, and there’s some really strong plot points build around their points of view in a way which drives the movie.